Claim to fame: Only prime minister from a Manitoba riding (although he was born in Ontario); first prime minister born after Confederation; created the Canadian National Railway.

Controversy: Appointed as a result of the King–Byng Affair.

(Photo: Library and Archives Canada)

Sir John A. MacdonaldConference: ConservativeTerm of office: July 1, 1867 to November 5, 1873 and October 17, 1878 to June 6, 1891 (18 years, 359 days)

Claim to fame: First Canadian prime minister, first conservative prime minister; integration of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into Canada; British Columbia and Prince Edward Island join confederation; creation of the North-West Mounted Police; National Policy.

Claim to fame: Introduced Canadian universal healthcare, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada student loans and creation of a new Canadian flag. Also signed the Auto Pact with the United States and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his role in the Suez crisis.

The Liberal and Conservative Conferences have concluded their 'round-robin' stages in our Greatest Prime Minister playoffs and eight prime ministers are left standing.

On Monday we launched the Conservative Conference round-robin and Sir John A. Macdonald, Arthur Meighen, Stephen Harper and John Diefenbaker made the cut. Wednesday we did the same for the Liberal Conference and Lester B. Pearson, William Lyon Mackenzie King, Alexander Mackenzie and Pierre Trudeau moved on.

Just to recap - with the Liberal Party leadership race heating up, and the continuing NHL lockout, QMI Agency is having some fun with our own version of the playoffs - but with prime ministers - and examining what qualities make a great head honcho.

Readers have already voted more than 15,000 times in the various polls and whittled 22 prime ministers down to the top eight. We've matched up prime ministers again based on their vote performances in the round-robin.

The semifinal stage will follow and then the final - which pits the top Conservative Conference winner against the top Liberal Conference winner.

On to the quarter-finals!

Conservative Conference:

Sir John A. Macdonald vs Arthur Meighen

Sir John A. Macdonald was the first Canadian prime minister, integrated Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into Canada; oversaw the entry of British Columbia and Prince Edward Island into confederation and created the North-West Mounted Police. Arthur Meighen was the first prime minister born after Confederation and created the Canadian National Railway.

John Diefenbaker was Canada's thirteenth prime minister and oversaw our nation joining NORAD, he successfully introduced the Canadian Bill of Rights and allowed status aboriginals to vote in federal elections in 1960. Stephen Harper introduced the federal Accountability Act which aims to reduce influence on parliament by corporate, union, or large political donations, he reduced the GST and created the veterans' Bill of Rights. He also apologized for the establishment of residential schools.

Lester B. Pearson introduced Canadian universal healthcare, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada student loans and created a new Canadian flag. Also signed the Auto Pact with the United States and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his role in the Suez crisis. Alexander Mackenzie was the first Liberal prime minister and created the Supreme Court of Canada, established of the Royal Military College of Canada and created the office of the Auditor General.

Pierre Trudeau held the 1980 Quebec Referendum, patriated the Canadian Constitution; introduced the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canada Health Act. William Lyon Mackenzie King was the longest serving Canadian prime minister over six elections at 21 years, 154 days and under him Canada first asserted diplomatic independence from Great Britain (Chanak Crisis), introduced old age pensions; nationalized the Bank of Canada and passed the Unemployment Insurance Act.